Fossil Fuels Vs Alternative Energy - 2272 Words

Fossil Fuels versus Alternative Energy The continued use of fossil fuels without seeking alternatives is a very dangerous practice. Earth’s temperature is rising, oceans are rising, polar ice caps are melting, Pacific waves are washing over some island nations, and extreme weather and heat waves are increasing. Alternatives to fossil fuels that pump carbon dioxide into the air seem hardly controversial. The controversy is about what can be done to reduce dependency on fossil fuels and how can we get it done. It is already too late, but how can we reduce the scale of the damage that is already upon us? The argument presented in some books, articles, and internet sources seems presented like some polite controversy with no clearly correct†¦show more content†¦Other chemicals and gases include sulfur dioxide (a type of gas that can lead to acid rain), nitrogen oxide (causes smog and acid rain), carbon dioxide (which is currently one of the greatest factors of global warming), small particles (the particles c an lead to health hazards and can increase the chance of lung cancer), hydrocarbons (causes smog), ash and sludge ( the ash and sludge consist of many pollutants and hold toxic metals within them like lead and mercury), and many other toxic metals (Casper 6-7). Some big greenhouse gases have very long living lifetimes in the atmosphere. Perfluoromethane has the longest lifetime with 50,000 years. Carbon dioxide has a lifetime of 50 to 200 years and is the leading gas causing global warming. The USA has the second highest quantity of emissions of carbon dioxide in the world. China is currently the world s leading country for carbon dioxide emissions, emitting 6017.69 tons of carbon dioxide. In 2006 North America had the second highest carbon dioxide emissions with 6,954.03 million metric tons. The leading geographic regions are Asia and Oceania with 11,219.00 million metric tons in 2006 (Casper 39-40). In the United States total energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions have been decreasing slowly. This trend might not be long term, and our consumption may rise again. In the world, North America has the highest consumption of oil and is the second largest consumer of